The Other Side (Of A World Without You)
by NationWide33
Summary: Meredith sticks her hand into a chest cavity - with a bomb in it - and Addison breaks down.


"I have a feeling," Meredith said as she was dragged out of bed this morning. "Like I might die today."

George is thinking about this when he finds Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd. She's sitting on a gurney, knees up to her chest, and George understands what Meredith was talking about. He's got a feeling. A not good feeling that something bad is about to happen.

Dr. Montgomery, Addison, is crying. The woman who's never anything less than perfectly composed and frustratingly amazing (if a bit crazy), is crying in an abandoned hallway during a code black.

She's (understandably) freaking out at him. One moment she's yelling at him about doing everything she can and how she doesn't know what to do and can he just leave her the fuck alone, and then she's completely silent. The quiet that sits between them is eerie and uncomfortable, and he's considering just leaving when she stops, looks up at him, and says: "How is she doing?"

George pauses. Addison is looking up at him with red eyes and he doesn't know what to do. This woman, the woman the other interns have deemed 'Satan', is staring at him with tears in her eyes, looking so vulnerable and lost and he isn't sure what to say to make it better.

"Who?" He asks stupidly. It hits him after he's spoken: She's talking about Dr. Bailey, their patient in labor who's refusing to push. There's another thing that George doesn't know how to deal with. He looks back at Addison, who has this impatient expression in her eyes and George panics a little.

"The girl with the bomb?" She asks, like it's obvious. She pushes stray hairs from her ponytail behind her ears and looks expectantly at him. He stutters.

"Oh. Meredith's okay, I guess. Or, as okay as she can be," George says, and his words fade away as he watches Addison pale so much she looks like a ghost. She looks up at him; he looks away.

"What - what happened to Hannah?"

"Hannah?" George asks distractedly. The fear in her eyes is distracting him. He thinks he must be confused, or misinterpreting the look. Addison and Meredith have a weird sort of frenemy relationship, but there's just no way Addison would care very much about the other woman holding a bomb.

"The girl with the bomb," Addison says, growing increasingly impatient. George pauses. The woman is growing scarier by the second, and she was already quite scary.

"Meredith is the girl with the bomb." George's words echo in the quiet hallway. He didn't think it possible, but Addison pales even further.

Addison, all wild eyes and white cheeks, stands so fast that George misses it when he blinks. Now she's up close and personal, and George has never been more afraid for his life than he is right now. He gulps.

"What do you mean Meredith is the girl with the bomb?"

"Uh - well - what happened was - well," George splutters.

"Get to the point, O'Malley," Addison growls . She looks, unhinged? And it scares George more than he'd ever admit. Gulp.

"Hannah, well, she panicked. She ran, and Meredith stopped the bomb from going off."

"How," Addison replies instantly, so quickly that he almost misses it. Her tone is quiet, and she isn't asking so much as telling.

"She - uh - stuck her hand in."

"Oh my god," Addison whispers, her hand covering her mouth. A beat passes, and the hand over her mouth muffles a sob.

George O'Malley has never been more confused, but when Addison Montgomery-Shepherd collapses against him with tear tracks and red eyes, he does the only thing he can - he hugs her.

Holds her while she cries, and helps her back upstairs when she's composed herself.

They have a baby to deliver.

(And they never speak of what happened in that hallway.)

* * *

Everyone hears the bomb go off.

Addison is standing beside the chief when the floor shakes a little, and the sound vibrates in her ears and rattles her brain (and breaks her heart just a little bit, because oh god Meredith was holding that bomb).

Someone screams. Was that her?

Addison doesn't realize she'd started towards the elevator until she's being restrained. There's a hand on her bicep, holding her back. She struggles a bit, but the grip is starting to hurt, so she stops, and the intern - Karev - lets go.

Her head hurts. Where's Meredith?

Nobody moves. Everybody is afraid to move. Addison fights every instinct to run for the elevator and pry it open just so she can see if Meredith is coming up.

Minutes tick by, and the elevator stays closed, empty, motionless. Addison closes her eyes. Her chest hurts. And then -

The ding of the elevator rings throughout the silent room.

Addison opens her eyes as the elevator doors part.

She looks awful, but alive . She's leaning on somebody, doesn't matter who, and Addison's striding across the room a little too quickly, and she's stumbling towards Meredith, pulling her away from the man holding her up, and into her arms.

Meredith is shaking against her, and Addison tightens her grip, one arm just above her waist and the other over her shoulder. Addison is crying silent tears into the crook of the blonde's neck.

Nobody moves. The room is silent. This is weird - Derek's ex-wife embracing his ex-girlfriend.

Addison pulls back just enough, brushing her thumbs across Meredith's cheeks, wiping away tears and dirt and blood. She leans her forehead against Meredith's, and they cry.

"Never do that again, okay?" Addison whispers, letting her eyes close and her fingertips clutch the fabric of Meredith's shirt. She's struggling to believe that Meredith is really here, alive, okay. Bruised and bleeding, but okay.

"I'll try," Meredith replies, her voice hoarse.

She wraps an arm around the woman's shoulders and helps lead her away from the crowd. They walk away in silence, and the crowd parts for them to walk through. Meredith leans heavy against Addison and lets the older woman lead the way.

"Meredith?" A voice stops them.

"Not now, Derek," Meredith sighs. The man looks almost wounded, and a flash of irritation shoots through Addison like a shock.

"Meredith, please -"

"Derek, she said not now ," Addison snaps. Neither woman even looks at him. They keep walking.


End file.
